Smash Crash Backed Flash
by CrunchyKid
Summary: Bruce, a 16 year old boy, wakes up in a high school with no memory. The school is full of the undead, and he, along with any other survivors, must fight for their lives to survive. This is very loosely based off of Walking Dead. It's just a zombie short story, and the zombies are the type of zombies that walkers are, or the zombies from World War Z(the book), or things like that.
1. ACT I

_Run run run run run. One foot in front of the other. Just keep going. Before they realize what you are. Or, aren't…no time to think just run. Legs burning, chests heaving, god my legs hurt. What was that sound. It was like a gunsh- *thump* Oh my god….oh my god my knee…what happened to my knee…I need to flip myself over. On three, one…two…three OH GOD! Oh my god my leg…where is my leg?! Oh god its bleeding so much…this hurts more than anything…oh my god I can't…._ The pain pushed all thought out of his head. It expanded into an angry red mass, ravaging his senses. His life drained away in front of him, quite literally, as his blood ran freely from his severed limb. The pain began to fade, and then disappeared entirely. His vision blurred, and darkened. _Oh…that's so much better…maybe if I yell, someone will hear me? I can't…I can't open my mouth…everything's black…huh…_These were the last sensible thoughts of Bruce. Bruce what? No one knows. They called him that, because that's what he had said he was. Bruce. And as he lay dying, the past few days of his life, which were coincidentally the only days he could remember, came back to him, and started playing across the poorly lit wall of the cinema also known as his concussed minds eye.

ACT I:

WAKING THE DEAD  
AND

BURYING THE LIVING

_ Ow…jesus….that light is so bright…oh sh*t my head…where the hell am I? _Lift your head, Bruce. _What? What are you?! _I'm rational. That's all you need to know right now. _Ok…you called me Bruce? Sh*t I can't remember my own name. What is going on?!_ Lift it.

It was a classroom. Obviously, it had been abandoned, and in some haste. Chairs knocked over, desks pushed together. Binders and pencils strewn across the floor, educational frosting on the academic cake that is the high school class room. But this cake had been bittered and soured by the wicked taste of destruction and neglect. The few lights that were still on flickered on and off, making little spots of neon light dance across Bruce's eyes. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision. His head was swimming, his eyes hurt, all he wanted to do was put his head back down on that desk and fall back into that pain-induced sleep he had come from. But he couldn't, because right as that thought popped into his head, he heard a yell. He ran to the door of the class, knocking into what seemed like every desk there was. He ran straight through the door, pushing it open with his momentum. He shot out into the hallway and right into the person who had yelled. They both lost balance and fell into a heap.

"Ow, what the fuck?" The source of the yell elbowed Bruce's forehead. He pulled his already aching head back, trying to get away from whatever was thrashing beneath him. He looked down and saw a kid with tousled brown hair and a blood-stained uniform, ripped and dirty. The kids face was set in a grimace, a dangerous mix of fear, pain, and anger.

"I'm sorry, I heard a yell, and I went to see what it was. I just lost control. I think I have a concussion or something. Are you ok?" Bruce thought of offering the kid his hand, so the kid could get up, but reconsidered. Bruce didn't think he should make himself anymore vulnerable to the bloodstained, wild eyed person he had just shoved to the ground.

"Yah well, I couldn't care less. I thought you were a zombie. Now I see you're just a retard. I would have preferred the zombie." The brown haired kid added under his breath. He got up, and started to stalk away.

"Wait! Where are you going? What's going on?" Bruce yelled after him. The kid turned, alarmed and angry.

"Shut up! They're going to fucking hear yo-" The kid was cut off as the door next to him erupted and another student lurched out. The anger on the brown haired kid's face quickly became fear as the disfigured attacker grabbed a hold of him, and bit down on his neck. Blood quickly started flowing, and the kid went down. The decomposing student bit down, again and again. Bruce was already gone. He knew what a zombie was, and the second that door exploded he knew that thing was a zombie. He just ran, past open lockers and bloodstained walls, past broken windows and overturned desks, past half eaten bodies of students and past the decomposing zombies that were seemingly everywhere. He rounded a corner, and to his dismay, at the end of the hallway a tight knot of them were shambling toward him. He spotted an open door with the words Janitors Closet scrawled across its front. He made a dash for it, jumping over a legless zombie and grabbing the doorknob. He pulled the door shut in one quick movement. He could hear them, though, clawing at the door. He looked around frantically, for something he could use. There was a mop, a few buckets, a flashlight, three 20-packs of AA batteries, a vacuum, and some cleaning things in a backpack. He shook the backpack out, and then threw in the flashlight and the packs of batteries in. As he put the backpack on his shoulder, he noticed that there was a note stuck to the back of the closet's door. It was stuck into the door with a large blade, some sort of kitchen knife. The note just said this:

_I love you so much Johnnie._

_ -Mom_

Bruce pulled the knife out of the wall, and gingerly took the note. He put it in his bag. He went to open the door, and then realized that the zombies were still right outside. _Come on, Bruce! Start using your head! _He reprimanded himself. _Oh great, now I'm talking to myself. I must be going crazy_. He put his back to the door, and slid down. He sat there for a few minutes, doing nothing but thinking, trying to remember what was going on, and figuring out what to do next. He knew he was 16, he knew his name was Bruce. But besides that, he remembered nothing. Obviously this was his school, but he had no memory of it. As he sat there, steaming, he spotted a roll of duct tape that had fallen out when he was shaking the backpack. He grabbed it, thinking it could come in handy. Then, an amazing idea dawned on him. He grabbed the mop, broke the end off so it was just a sharp stick, and duct taped the knife onto the sharp end of the mop handle. He wrapped duct tape around two spots on the handle, one nearer to the bottom of the mop and the other closer to the knife, so he could use them as grips. He brandished the spear, feeling bold. _I can do this. I can actually do this! _ Bruce kicked the door, and it barely moved. The adrenaline died down a little. _I thought that would work…ow..._ He reached for the door, and gingerly opened it. The zombies were still there. There were more than ten, standing there staring blankly at him. He panicked immediately, and shoved his spear into the first ones head, as the others began to converge. He pulled it out and heard a snap as the mop handle broke. _God why?! No no no no! This can't be happening! _Bruce started shaking, and he swung the handle at another zombie. He made contact, smashing its head to the side. It kept shuffling, grabbing at him. He pulled away and started to run. He threw the mop handle and it clattered at their feet. He turned forward and ran, again. But he didn't need to run far, as he stumbled into a bloody fight. There were four students, three guys and a girl, surrounded by about 10 zombies. One kid, a tall blonde boy with a build like a linebacker, was swinging a metal bat. He managed to smash a zombies head in, but he was startled by another zombie he hadn't seen grabbing his arm. Before it could bite down, another student, this time a pretty girl with straight brown hair past her shoulders with a strange fan-bladed pole, knocked it off him and then brought the homemade weapon down on its head, splitting it right down the middle. Before Bruce could take anymore of the situation in, he was shocked into action by the sound of a groan behind him. He turned to see another pair of the undead stalking down the hallway toward him. He had nothing to fight with, so he jumped back, and yelled out to the group frantically, "HELP! I NEED HELP!" Only one of the four was in a state to help, the others preoccupied with the zombies. A boy with thick, short black hair and thick framed glasses was standing there staring at a zombie that was advancing toward him. He was holding a fire axe, squeezing it so hard his knuckles were white. He looked petrified. He seemed to wake up when he heard Bruce's yell, and saw Bruce sprinting towards the group. The kid looked relieved, but was panicked as the zombie he had been staring at took a lunge at him. He jumped back, shouting out in fear. Bruce had reached the group, and he drop kicked the zombie. The monster tumbled to the ground, but was getting up in seconds.

"Give me that axe!" Bruce yelled. The kid with glasses was more than happy to, and threw his axe to Bruce. Bruce managed to catch it, and swung it down on the now standing zombie. He missed the head, and buried the axehead in the zombies shoulder. He stepped back, and the zombie grabbed at him, flailing its arms and letting out a moan. He brought it down again, this time on its forehead. It kept lashing out at him for a second or two, and then went limp. It dropped to the ground, bringing the axe with it. He planted his foot on the dead zombies head, and ripped the axe out right as he heard a triumphant shout.

'We did! We god damn did it! Haha, yes!" Bruce turned to see the blond boy hugging the brunette and smiling. Bruce chuckled slightly, and the boy with the glasses looked like he was about to faint from relief. Bruce could finally get a good look at the group of kids. The blonde guy looked like a jock, short blonde hair and sparkling eyes, devilish grin and defined jaw line. He had broad shoulders, about 6 feet tall. He was wearing a tight t-shirt, with a football jacket over it. The girl was extraordinarily pretty. She had brown hair, that varied from the color of dark chocolate to a light hazel. Her eyes were also brown, with bits of gold. It was like someone had sprinkled golden dust into a cup of hot cocoa. She was wearing a skirt with a tank top and a sweater. She had softer features, her cheeks tinted red at the edges, giving her an innocent look. She wasn't smiling, but her eyes were dancing, like a candle in the wind. She had an interesting weapon. It looked like she had sharpened the blade of a lawnmower, and then attached it to a metal pole. It must have weighed a ton. The guy standing next to her looked sullen. He had drawn out features, shockingly pale and made even paler by the contrast between his white skin and jet black hair. He had weirdly yellowed eyes. He was lanky, and he was wearing black jeans and a hoodie. Last of all, there was the kid with the glasses. He had a mess of black hair, thick black rimmed glasses, and a sweater vest, tucked into his blue jeans. He looked kind of awkward, obviously not very social.

"Hey, who are you?" The blond guy said, staring at Bruce.

"I'm Bruce, I was a student here. I, uh, just stumbled across you guys. I was being chased by zombies." Bruce held out his hand.

The blond haired boy shook Bruces hand, then said "I'm Kyle. This is Sammy," He said, indicating to the girl. She gave Bruce a quick smile,"And this is Chris." The boy in the hoodie also shook Bruce's hand.

"And…and I'm Johnnie." The kid with the glasses timidly held out his hand, which was shaking worse than a puppy in a snowstorm. Bruce reached out and grabbed it, and grinning. "I'm so happy I found someone else. I thought I was the only one left." Bruce said through his smile. "Well, glad to prove you wrong." Kyle said, grinning. Sammy just nodded, looking determined. "This isn't safe. These things seem to locate us by smell. They're gonna come for us soon." Chris said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "We need to move."

"Of course we do. But where?" Sammy's voice was surprisingly high, not whiny, but certainly higher than the usual voice.

"We can go to the auditorium. The skywalk would be a good place to hide, theres only one entrance and its elevated. We can use the chairs for fire, and to secure the door. Plus, the auditorium is right next to the cafeteria, so if we need food, we can just run over and grab some." Johnnie seemed surprisingly educated about the architecture. Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"Yah, that's a great idea. Come on, lets go!" Kyle said, looking hopeful. Bruce grinned, and soon the happiness was contagious. But right as they started feeling happy, they heard moans coming from the end of the corridor. And then they heard something even worse. The sound of running.


	2. ACT II

ACT II

THE END OF BEGINNING

AND

BEGINNING OF THE END

"We need to leave! Now!" Kyle yelled.

"Where are we going to go?!" Chris snapped back, tightening his grip on his blades.

"Let's listen to Johnnie, the auditorium is a good place to go. We can set up in the skywalk." Sammy was halfway through her sentence when the source of the running appeared. Two boys, one with a sledge hammer and the other with a wrench, came barreling down the corridor.

"GO GO GO! THEY'RE FUCKING COMING!" The taller of the two yelled, dragging the sledge behind him as he ran. The other boy, shorter and wider than the first, was just huffing and puffing, barely keeping up.

"Follow us! We have a safe place!" Kyle yelled back, as he started to run, grabbing Johnnie by the arm and pulling him. Chris and Sammy had already started to run. Bruce was just standing there, watching this whole thing unfold. Just as Kyle finished his sentence, the zombies began to appear. Bruce still stood, gripping his axe. The boys were almost to him, and he wanted to make sure they weren't left behind. They looked relieved as they shot past him, following Kyle. Bruce turned and started running, taking up the rear. They began to run down the hallway, passing door after door. His lungs were starting to burn, and his head was swimming. He started seeing doubles, and the two boys were already gone, far ahead of him. Zombies had started to pour out of classrooms, closing in around him. He started to slow down. His peripheral vision was already gone, consumed by blackness that was slowly filling the rest of his vision. He looked forward, and thought he saw Chris and the boy with the sledge standing at the door. They were beckoning and yelling.

"COME ON! LET'S GO!" Chris was getting frantic, as the room right next to the auditorium was the library. Zombies had started to pour out of the libraries entrance, and started stalking towards the two boys. Bruce was only a few steps from the door as the zombies converged onto the entrance. The boy with the sledge grabbed Bruce and pulled him in as the door swung shut. The zombies started scratching at the door, trying to get in. Bruce saw Kyle, Sammy, and the shorter of the two new boys ripping apart the chairs. Johnnie was sitting in the corner, staring intently at a book. Bruce started to get up, but immediately felt a rush and then blacked out.

He woke up to warmth. He opened his eyes and immediately closed them, pain spreading like wildfire, burning from his eyes to his forehead, then to the back of his head and even his neck. He lay there for a few minutes, then slowly opened them again. It burned again, so he closed them. He repeated this a few times, until he could squint for about a minute. He looked around. He was propped against a wall, a fire a few feet from him. Alarm bells went off in his, head, as he knew a fire couldn't be good, but calmed down when he saw it was manmade, pieces of the chairs burning in front of him, He turned his head and lurched back. He was about 50 feet off the ground, on a tiny platform. He knew it was the skywalk, but he felt sick and nauseous. His axe was laid next to him, and he turned as he heard a snore. The two new boys, as well as Johnnie and Kyle, were asleep. The new boys were in the same position as Bruce, there legs out in front of them, their backs against the wall. Kyle and Johhnie were laying down on the skywalk, a few feet from each other. Bruce slowly got up, regretting his decision immediately as his head ached again.

"God DAMMIT!" He kicked the ground in anger, cursing the concussion.

"Ow! Fuck!" He cursed himself again, this time for just being stupid. He angrily stalked down the skywalk to the stairs at the end. Every step hurt, both his head and his foot, but he didn't care. He hobbled along, thinking that he should just walk it off. He slowly limped down the staircase. And then stopped as he heard voices.  
"Chris, Kyle told me all about what you said." A girls voice that sounded vaguely like Sammy's giggled.

"Did he now? And what did he say?" Chris unmistakably gravely voice laughed back.

"He said that you guys got REALLY drunk last week and," Possibly-Sammy stopped to giggle again, an adorable noise that even made Bruce want to laugh. After her litte laughing fit, she continued with "He said you told him to tape you to a sofa and toss you in the pool."

"Oh yeaah…I remember that…kinda…" Chris started laughing, and Sammy followed. They were obviously in a strange state of mind. Bruce had no idea what it was, they were possible under the influence of something. He decided not to eavesdrop, and continued down the stairs.  
"Hey hey hey, look who it is. What's up, Brucey?" Chris spotted him immediately, grinning.

"Hey man. What's going on?" Bruce surveyed the scene. They had set up a few chairs in front of the door, which had been boarded up with pieces of the chairs. Chris and Sammy were sitting, watching the door. "What, I don't get a hey?" Sammy pretended to be offended, looking at Bruce with her beautiful golden eyes.

"Of course you do, I was getting to that. How are you?" Bruce laughed, as

Chris beckoned for Bruce to sit in the chair next to him.

"Well, I'm scared shitless, probably going to get eaten alive, and haven't slept in two days. But I mean, at least I'm not one of those things yet." Sammy said, and Bruce couldn't tell how much of it was a joke.  
"Come on, Sam. Don't be such a downer. We're alive and we're together. Me, you, and Kyle. Now we got Bruce, who seems to know what he's doing. Johnnie's a fucking genius, plus Michael and Derik just joined us two." Chris smiled. "We can do this."

"Yah I guess. Speaking of which, Bruce, what's your story? What happened to you?" Sammy looked curiously at Bruce.

"I uh…I woke up in some class. I'm pretty sure it's actually right outside those doors," He said, motioning towards the entrance."…I can't remember anything, I didn't even know my name. But I woke up, right, and this like, voice was in my head. I'm not crazy, I promise. But it says to me, like '_Bruce, wake up. You need to get up._' And so I did. I walked out the doors and saw some poor kid get eaten, like, immediately. It was awful. But I started running, just like, trying to get away from the zombies. I spotted the janitors closet, and jumped in there. There was this knife in the wall, and it was holding a note to it. You know, its probably still in my pack. Wait, where is my pack…I totally forgot about it!" Bruce got nervous, that thing had a flashlight and the batteries, which certainly weren't essential, but would still seriously help.

"Its alright, man." Chris reassured him. "I brought it upstairs with your axe. That's a rad story, though. I think I've seen you around school before, but like, we never talked. You're not in any-I mean, you weren't in any of my classes. What about you, Sam? Did you know him?"

"No, I hadn't ever talked to him. But we had English together. We had it with Derik too. That means you're either a junior, or a senior that got held back. Or maybe even a sophomore that got pushed up. You know, speaking of Derik, that guys a douchebag. He was such an asshole." Chris raised his brow, surprised. He and Sammy went off, back and forth about who was or wasn't an ass. Bruce zoned out, the pain in his head coming back. He watched them talk, first focusing on Chris. His eyes were interesting, not quite yellow but not quite gold, nor orange or green. They were the color of decayed amber, liked sickly yellowed amber. You could barely see them though, as his spiky dark hair was always swept across his brow. He had a pointy face, all angles. He looked almost goth, pitch black hair covering his eyes and forehead, a tall, pale, lanky form, covered by a black hoodie and dark jeans. Sammy was a totally different story. She was the definition of pretty. She had beautiful long hair, ranging between all shades of brown. She had curved eyebrows that made her look happy and innocent, and that moved a lot when she talked. Her eyes were striking, making you want to stare at them for days. They were dark brown, but also flecked with gold. She had an adorable nose that fit her lips and her cheeks perfectly. Her cheeks were tinged a tiny bit red at the edges, making her look even more adorable. She had an interesting complexion, not tan, but not pale either. It was light peachy color, and looked soft and smooth. She was a bit shorter than Bruce, probably 5'6-ish, while Bruce thought he was about 5'8. Chris was a good 6 feet tall, but he didn't seem to tower over them. Maybe it was because he was always slouching. It was after this thought that Bruce realized that both Sammy and Chris were staring at him.

"Um…Brucey? Dude?" Chris waved his hand in front of Bruce's face.

"Uh…oh sorry guys…" Bruce looked down, embarrassed as Chris and Sammy cracked up.

"You were staring at us for a good fifteen minutes, Bruce." Sammy giggled.

"Oh shit, wait, what time is it?" Chris suddenly shot up. Sammy pulled out her phone, and squinted at it. "It's like, 3:45?"

"Ok, Bruce, bro, go back to sleep. You need to rest. Do us a favor, wake up Kyle and…what's his name?" Chris looked questioningly at Sammy. "You know, the guy Derik came with?"

"Michael. It's Michael." Sammy sighed. "His name is Michael. Bruce isn't the only one that needs sleep."

"You got that right. I need to hit the hay, big time." Chris said, and yawned to prove his point.

"Alright, I'll go wake them up. Thanks guys. You managed to cheer me up quite a bit." Bruce grinned and started to walk away.  
"Brucey! Thank you, dude. You're a lifesaver." Bruce turned back to see Chris smiling right back. "We gotta stay positive. This place is safe. We're gonna make it!" Bruce smiled again and started up the steps. His pain hadn't gone anywhere, and his smile was already beginning to fade as he walked up the steps. Happiness is a candle. Its burns out just as quickly as it gets light if there's no one to maintain the flame. Bruce stopped at the top of the stairs to catch his breath. Kyle was sleeping, still lying on the ground. Michael and Derik also hadn't moved, snoring away. Johnnie wasn't anywhere to be seen though. Puzzled, Bruce walked over the Kyle, and shook him. Kyle was huge probably just as tell as Chris, but much more muscular. He wasn't fat, or even burly, just ripped. He was obviously a football player, or something like that. He looked like Hollywood's perfect jock. In every high school movie, there's always that couple. The star of the football team and the top cheerleader. Well, he would be that star. He had a golden hair, that matched his golden tan. He had very defined features, a solid jaw line and sparkling green eyes. Kyle was every teen girls dream guy. He groggily got up, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Yo, whats up Bruce?" He asked sleepily.

"Its time for your shift, man." Bruce helped him up, handing Kyle his bat. Kyle stared at the bat for a second, and then snapped back to reality. "Oh right. I was hoping this was a bad dream. Who am I watching with?" Kyle asked, his mouth twisting into a grimace as he realized that he was still stuck in this hellish nightmare. "Michael, I think. The dude with the sledge. Go down to Chris and Sammy, I'll wake him up." Kyle looked thankful, smiling a little. "Thanks, bro. You're a cool guy." He started to walk away, heading for the platform. Bruce walked over to where Derik and Michael were sleeping, and gently shook Michael. Unlike Kyle, Michael shot up in an instant, hands up and eyes darting around. "Woah, woah, its ok, man. I just wanted to tell you it's time for your shift." Bruce backed up a few steps, trying to calm Michael down. "Oh, right, sorry. I, uh, I was having a bad dream." Michael said apologetically. He went to pick up his sledge, but stopped when his stomach rumbled. "Fuck, I haven't eaten in like, 2 days. Do we have any food?" Bruce just shrugged, and said, "I have no idea, sorry. Ask Chris or Sammy, if we do, they'll tell me and I can bring some down." Michael looked thankful, and grabbed his hammer. "You're a lifesaver, man." He patted Bruce on the shoulder and walked in the same direction as Kyle, making his way to the floor of the auditorium. Bruce slid down, exhausted and hungry himself. His foot finally stopped hurting, and his head wasn't as bad. He picked up his bag and started digging through it. The flashlight and the batteries were still there, and so was the note. Right as he pulled the note out, he heard shuffling and grabbed his axe. He turned and saw Johnnie stumbling back to the fire. "Hey, John. Where were you, man?" Bruce put the axe down again, and relaxed.

"I was just going for a walk. It helps me go back to sleep." Johnnie said simply as he lay down. "Hate to break it to you, pal, but I don't think you'll be able to do that anymore. It's too dangerous." Bruce felt kinda bad saying this, seeing how traumatized Johnnie was already. He looked at the note, still in his hand. "Hey, uh, I have something for you." Bruce walked over to Johnnie, and handed it to him. Johnnie looked at it in disbelief. "Where did you-"

"I found it pinned to the wall in the janitors closet, of all places. Is it yours?"

"Yah, it is! I thought after Derik took it, I'd never see it again. My mom's got leukemia, and my dads in Iraq. I don't see them often, so this is what she gave me to remember her when I hadn't seen her for a while. This is really means a lot to me." Johnny teared up a little. He blinked the tears away, and beamed up at Bruce. "You're a lifesaver, Bruce!" Johnnie tucked the note into the pocket of his sweater vest, and then curled up on the skywalk. Bruce walked back to his spot, and sat down just as Chris and Sammy appeared at the top of the stairs, laughing. They nodded at Bruce, and sat down next to him. He remember how hungry Michael had been, and asked "We have any food?" Sammy shook her head, and Bruce's happiness disappeared. They had no food? That can't be good. He sat with his back against the wall, as Chris fell asleep immediately, followed quickly by Johnnie and Sammy. He finally got drowsy, and let his eyes close, falling into a light sleep.


	3. ACT III

ACT III

THE DOORS OPEN

AND

THE WINDOWS CLOSE

"Bruce…Bruce…hey, Bruce?" Bruce woke to being shaken, and hearing his name being whispered in his ear. It was a lot darker than before, the fire having burned itself out, and there being no windows in the auditorium. He blinked a few times, and rose from his curled up position on the skywalk. He couldn't see a thing, so he put his hand out and groped around until he found the wall. "Who is it?" He asked, rubbing his eye with his free hand as he slowly got up. "It's me, it's Johnnie. I can't relight the fire. Here." Bruce heard some weird metallic flicking sounds, then a resigned sigh. "I can't make the lighter…go…" Johnnie's voice was full of embarrassment. "Give me a sec, pal." Bruce tried to sound helpful, and reached down. He felt around on the ground, until he finally felt the backpack. He ran his fingers around it, until he found the zipper. He unzipped it, and groped around again until he found the flashlights plastic handle. He pulled it out, and turned it on. Johnnie was standing there awkwardly holding a lighter in one hand, and using his other hand to cover his eyes from the flashlights beam. "Haha, oh, what, you can't use a lighter? Loser." A hand came from behind Johnnie and grabbed the lighter. Bruce pointed the flashlight behind Johnnie to see Derik holding the lighter, and in the other hand the wrench. He had a smirk plastered across his pimpled face. "Watch and learn, squirt." He squatted down next to the fire and flicked the lighter on, watching with glee as the flames caught. "Looks like we're gonna need some more kindling, are you guys going to take your shift now?" Kyle's voice appeared out of the darkness, and Bruce swung his flashlight to see Kyle coming up the stairs with Michael. "Yeah, aren't we, Johnnie boy?" Johnnie flinched as Derik draped his arm around Johnnies shoulders and squeezed, smiling a mischievous grin. Johnnie nodded quickly, worming his way out of Deriks grip and shuffling over the Bruce. "Ok, well, Bruce, why don't you go down with them, grab some wood from the pile of broken chairs, and bring it up here." Kyle looked at Bruce expectantly. Michael was already propped up against. "Oh, yah, sure man. No problem." Bruce nodded. Johnnie quickly walked away, making his way to the stairs. Derik followed suit, strutting down the skywalk. As Bruce started to walk away, Kyle grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. "Look, man, after you bring the kindling up here, go back down and make sure nothing happens. Derik is a bully, and Johnnie is his ideal subject to exercise his old habits on."

"Of course, I'll keep an eye on them." Kyle looked relieved, and sank to the ground. He looked exhausted. Bruce started walking away again, but was halted once again by Kyle asking him to wait. "Yes?" Bruce turned again. "Look, we're gonna need to get some food. When the shifts over, come up and wake us. We'll go raid the cafeteria." Kyle then put his head down and closed his eyes, indicating he had no more energy to talk. Bruce started down the stairs. At the bottom of the steps, he saw Johnnie waiting expectantly while Derik was using his wrench to take out the bolts in one of the chairs, probably so he could use it as a footrest. There was a massive pile of broken chair parts in the corner of the auditorium. Out of the 600 something chairs in the room, two rows worth of the chairs had been ripped out of the ground in the back to make more space for the group, and then split into the pieces for fire and to use for boarding up the door. As Bruce stepped onto the floor, Johnnie timidly began to whisper something in Bruce's ear. "Can you stay with Derik while I take the kindling up? I don't want to be alone with him." Johnnies eyes were full of fear, pure, unhidden fear. He was terrified. Bruce felt terrible for him. "Yeah, of course champ. You can." He patted Johnnie's shoulder and then beckoned for him to come to the big pile of chair pieces. "So, while we get some suitable kindling, you want to tell me how you guys did all this?" Bruce inquired as he began digging through the pile, pulling arm rests and cushions out of the pile and dropping them at his feet. "Well, uh, I thought that we could use the wrench that…you know…_he_ has," Johnnie quickly looked at Derik before looking away again. "To unbolt the chairs from the ground. Then, using Sammy's…thing….I realized we could smooth the bolts so they didn't have the rivets, making them more like nails. We used the ones we didn't botch to nail the backs of the chairs to the doors, so it was harder to open." Johnnie started picking up the pieces, getting ready to bring them upstairs. Bruce looked at him in awe. "That's…incredible. Dude, you're a genius." Johnnie looked up with eyes full of disbelief behind his thick glasses.. "Really?"

"Yah! No one else could be that calm and collected in that situation. Man, you're a fucking genius, you know that?" Johnnies face lit up, but he flinched when they heard Derik shouting. "Hey, ladies, come on. Get it over with." Johnnie nodded and grabbed the last of the firewood. He quickly started toward the stairs. As he hurried away, Bruce felt a twinge of guilt for not saying anything. He picked up some more wood, and walked over to the seats that were set up in front of the door. He let it drop into a pile, and looked at Derik. "Can I get that lighter?" Derik looked over, his feet resting on the new pile of chairs he had stacked in front of him. "What? Oh, yeah, here." He tossed it, and Bruce lit the wood. It flared to life, lighting most of the auditorium. "So uh, they were saying you don't remember anything?" Bruce was startled that Derik was trying to make conversation. "Uh, yah, like, I know my name, but besides that, pretty much nothing."

"Really? Nothing?" Bruce looked skeptical.

"Yah…why?" Bruce didn't like the way Derik was looking at him. He looked almost…relieved. But Bruce couldn't really tell. Derik was unreadable. He was short, only a little taller than Johnnie. He looked pretty heavy, not fat, but overweight. He had brown hair that was spiked up messily, and he had a bad case of acne. He had a flat face, squished features that made him look like some sort of pug. "No reason…nothin you gotta worry about." Derik laughed to himself and turned away. Just as he did, Johnnie came walking down the steps. He was snoring in seconds. After a minute or two, Johnnie came back down the steps with a big book. He hesitantly walked towards the seats where Derik and Bruce were, and sat down. "What's that, dude?" Bruce looked inquiringly at Johnnie, who sheepishly showed the title. "State High School Architecture, huh?" Bruce laughed a little. "I have two questions for you." 'Um…ok…shoot." Johnnie closed the book and looked up.

"One, where did you get that, and two, why are you reading it?"

"Well, I found it in the janitor's closet a few weeks ago. Architecture has always been an interest of mine, so I grabbed it. Look, I've been planning a way to get out. We go through the cafeteria, stack some tables up in the courtyard so that we can climb up to the roof, run across the roof so that we're over the front entrance. We can't go directly through the front doors from the cafeteria because of the high concentration of zombies. But if we pile the tables…" Johnnie went on and on, getting so worked up that he was having to wriggle in his seat, pointing out every step of the escape and explain each in turn. Johnnie was a very awkward looking individual, with his hair a matted mess of black. He had thick framed black glasses that made his eyes look huge, while he had a thin nose and pale skin. He wore a sweater vest, and a long sleeved shirt under that. He had khaki pants on, that went down to his ankles. He had dirtied white shoes with ankle socks, completing the look. He started to slow down, his speech becoming quieter and slower. "…and so we can jump down, and break through this part of the fence if we use the sledge." He looked at Bruce, his eyes shining. "Yah, that sounds like it could really work. Hey, John, do me a favor. Tell me about you and Derik." Johnnie's face drained of color. "No, no…not when he's right there. He," Johnnie moved his head so his mouth was right next to Bruce's ear and whispered, "he's always made fun of me, hit me, broken my stuff, made me look stupid…he scares me…" Bruce pulled away, and put his hand on Johnnie's shoulder. "Go upstairs. Wake up the rest of the group, show them your escape plan. I'll stay here and watch. Come down when you guys are ready. I'll start getting the planks off the wall, ok? Be down here in an hour." Johnnie nodded and hurried off. Bruce relaxed and walked over to the doors. He took his flashlight out of his backpack and put it in his mouth, shining it on the hastily barricaded entrance. He brought his axe down on the planks, hacking and smashing until he could kick them off. There were still some pieces nailed to the wall, but they could leave when they wanted. He walked back to the chairs, and sat down. He stared into the fire, which was already starting to dim. His stomach gurgled, and he looked down He was a wreck. His shirt, just a black long sleeved shirt with the words "I hate Mondays" on the front, was charred, bloodied and ripped. His jeans were shredded and soaked in blood, and his shoes didn't have any laces anymore. His headache was gone, but he was still sore everywhere. He sat there, staring at the fire, trying to remember anything. The same things kept playing over and over in his head. Waking up in that classroom, seeing the student getting eaten alive, the spear breaking, meeting the group, and then passing out in the auditorium. He cursed himself silently for having such awful luck. After what felt like ages, he got up and started pacing. When he got bored of that, he practiced using his axe on the chairs that were still attached to the ground. He improved his balance with it a bit, making his strikes somewhat more accurate. He stopped when he missed the chair and bounced the axe off the ground right next to his foot, nearly cutting his toes off. He walked back to the chairs and sat down. He waited and waited, until he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps. He turned to see the whole group. Kyle with his around Sammy, holding his bat in the other hand while she was using hers like a walking stick. Johnnie was walking behind Michael and Chris, who were laughing while Chris was flipping one of his knives from hand to hand. "Hey! Get up, Derik! We're going." Michael yelled. "Uh what?!" Derik shot up, looking confused. "Oh..right." He grabbed his wrench, wiping his nose with his arm with a sniff before getting up and strutting over to the group. Bruce got up slowly, grabbing his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. Kyle gave him a quick smile, Sammy waved as they passed and readied their weapons. Chris came over and shook Bruces hand, looking at him with a determined expression, while Michael just nodded. Derik walked over the Michael and stood next to him, while Johnnie stayed behind everyone.. The group all exchanged looks, and then Kyle turned and looked expectantly at Bruce. "Hey, Bruce, can you do me a favor?" Bruce nodded and walked through the rest of the kids to stand beside Kyle. "I was told by Sammy here that you were a good public speaker. We're about to go on a pretty dangerous mission. Maybe give us a little pep talk?" Bruce was unsure. "Uh, well, ok I guess." Bruce brandished his axe and looked at the group in front of him. Kyle and Sammy were in the front, with Chris standing next to them. Then Michael and Derik stood behind them, with Johnnie in the very back. "I, I uh…I can't say I know you guys well. But from what I've seen so far, you're all incredible. Kyle, you're an amazing leader, you've managed to keep all of us together, alive, and best of all not from killing each other. Sammy, you have made an apocalypse happier. There's people eating each other out there, yet you managed to make me laugh my ass. Chris, you saved my fucking life, and you made me feel like I have a friend in this dark place. I know this is sappy guys, but its true. And Michael, you kept that door open for me, and I haven't talked to you much, but anyone who saves my ass is good in my book. Johnnie, you're a genius. You're probably the sole reason we're going to make it out of this god forsaken hellhole. And Derik, you managed to entertain me through our shift, so thanks for that. But you guys, we need to stay positive. This place," Bruce motioned to the auditorium."This is our haven. It's made us feel happy and safe. But out there," he pointed to the doors,"That's a cold and deadly place. You need to remember that. So focus, stay together, and be smart. They work on smell, according to Chris. That means the more of us together, the better they will be able to locate us. We're going to split into 3 groups. Sammy and Kyle, Michael and Chris, and Johnnie, Derik and me. Johnnie, Derik and I are going to scout for a way to get out, while Sammy and Kyle are going to cover the entrance to the cafeteria and barricade it. Michael and Chris will be collecting whatever food they can. We are going to do this quick, and we are going to do this right." Bruce nodded, and stepped back as Kyle took his place in front of the group. Bruce scanned the kids faces, and they were all set in a determined expression, even Johnnie. "Thank you, Bruce. Now, here's how this is going to go down. Sammy and I, along with Michael and Derik are going out first. Michael and Derik will fend off the zombies that may come in from the right hall, while Sammy and I will fight off any from the left. Chris, Johnnie and Bruce are gonna make a beeline for the cafeteria. Once they're in there, we'll follow. We'll get in, close the doors. Sammy will go help Johnnie and Chris, who will be waiting next to the door with a lunch table. Sammy and Chris will push the table in front of the door, barricading it. While that's going on, Derik and Michael, as well as me and Bruce will start clearing out the rest of the cafeteria. Once we've done that, Johnnie and Derik along with Bruce, you guys look around for a way to escape. Me and Sammy will go barricade the other entrances, and Michael and Chris will go grab food. Sound good?" Kyle raised his bat, and everyone yelled an energetic "Yeah!" Kyle grinned and turned towards the door. "Lets do this!" He yelled and Bruce shoved the door open, and the group charged out into the hall.


End file.
